Another All-Time High for Massachusetts Pending Home Sales in May
WALTHAM, MA – June 12, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported today that more homes were put under agreement in the month of May than in any month since January 2004 when MAR began tracking this data. Condominium pending sales also hit their highest point in the nine years of tracking. Pending sales figures (also called homes under agreement) are a leading indicator of actual housing sales in Massachusetts for the following 2-3 months.
“May was a tipping point as increasing prices and interest rates pushed qualified buyers to make offers that sellers accepted in great numbers,” said 2013 MAR President Kimberly Allard-Moccia, broker-owner of Century 21 Professionals in Braintree. “However, we still need more homes on the market and hopefully this activity will spark potential sellers to list their homes to help meet the demand.”
The number of single-family homes put under agreement in May was up 83.6 percent compared to the same time last year (9,075 homes in 2013 from 4,944 homes in 2012). This was the most homes that have gone under agreement in any month that the Association has available data (starting in January 2004). This was also the first time that pending home sales went over the 9,000 home mark and the biggest monthly year-over-year increase ever recorded. On a month-to-month basis, single-family homes put under agreement were up 58 percent compared to 5,738 homes put under agreement in April 2013.
The number of condos put under agreement in May was up 63.2 percent compared to May 2012 (3,469 units in 2013 from 2,126 units in 2012). This was the most condos to go under agreement since the Association began tracking this information. On a month-to-month basis, condos put under agreement went up 45 percent from 2,383 units in April 2013.
About Pending Sales:
The tracking of signed purchase and sales agreements (also called “pending sales”) provide reliable information about where the real estate market is heading in coming months.
A pending sale or a sale “under agreement” is when the buyer and seller agree on the terms of the sale of a home and have a signed purchase and sale agreement, but have yet to close and be recorded as such. MAR is the only organization which compiles this statewide information from Multiple Listing Services each month.
The Data:
Monthly pending (or under agreement) data and closed sales data comes from the three REALTOR®-affiliated Multiple Listing Services in Massachusetts. They are the Berkshire County Multiple Listing Service, Cape Cod & Islands Association of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service, Inc.; and MLS Property Information Network, Inc. The data is compiled by 10K Research and Marketing, Inc. and updated each month. As a result, previous data may change after the reports have been run.
About the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®:
Organized in 1924, the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® is a professional trade organization with more than 18,000 members. The term REALTOR® is registered as the exclusive designation of members of the National Association of REALTORS® who subscribe to a strict code of ethics and enjoy continuing education programs.
